In honour of Canada Day which happens on July 1st, there will likely be a bevy of Canadian-inspired lists that will hit the web this week. Given that I didn’t want to be left out, I thought I’d come up with a list of my own – but one that was consistent with the nature of what Enviro Dad is all about.
I decided to come up with a list of interesting, cool or otherwise noteworthy eco facts about Canada. Originally I didn’t have a specific number of facts that I was looking for and I could have gone on forever. However after I found 34 I thought the list looked good plus I wanted to get it out so I stopped at this random number. That said this certainly isn’t a complete list by any stretch so if after reading my list you think you have others to add, please feel free to add them to the comment section at the end.
So without further delay, I present to you in no particular order, 34 COOL ECO FACTS ABOUT CANADA:
- Canada is the birthplace of Greenpeace in 1971
- The blue-box was created by a Canadian named Jack McGinnis. In addition Kitchener, Ontario became the 1st city in the world to participate in a curbside blue box recycling program back in 1981
- The Great Lakes contain 18% of the worlds fresh water
- Canada has 563 lakes that are larger than 100 square kilometres
- Canada has 31,752 lakes that are larger than 3 square kilometres
- Henderson Lake, BC receives the most annual precipitation in Canada at 6,903 mm per year
- Eureka, Nunavut receives the least annual precipitation in Canada at 64 mm per year
- The largest lake entirely in Canada is Great Bear Lake (Northwest Territories), which has an area of 31,328 square kilometres.
- The deepest lake in Canada is Great Slave Lake (Northwest Territories), which has a depth of 614 metres.
- Canada is home to 25% of the worlds wetlands. 15 to 25% of the prairies are considered wetlands.
- Canada is home to 10% of the world’s forests.
- Canada is home to over 70,000 plant and animal species
- Canada has the longest coastline in the world at 243,793 KM long
- Environment Canada was established on June 11, 1971 and Canada became only the 2nd country in the world to have a Ministry of the Environment
- Currently there are 668 endangered species in Canada
- Della Falls in Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island is Canada’s tallest waterfall at 440 metres or 1,443 feet. That’s about the same height as the Sky Pod on Toronto’s CN Tower which is the highest observation deck in the world
- Canada is the 2nd largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world (after China) and is our number one form of renewable energy.
- The worlds first hydroelectric plant was built in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 1879
- In 2005 Atlantic Canada processed 35% of all of Canada’s compost.
- Twice each day about 200 Billion litres of water enter and leave the Bay of Fundy in Atlantic Canada
- Canada contains about 7% of the world’s renewable fresh water.
- The average Canadian uses about twice the amount of water per day as does someone from France.
- Western Canada is home to areas that qualify as either Deserts or Semi-Deserts. The Okanagan Desert (or Nk’mip Desert) in the south Okanagan area of British Columbia near Osoyoos Lake can often see temperatures above 38 Degrees Celcius in the summer and receives only about 250 – 300 mm (or 10 – 12 inches) or rain per year.
- Canada is the worlds 2nd largest country at around 10 million square kilometers in size. About 8.9% of Canada’s area is covered by water.
- Canada’s population ranks us 35th in the world, but our population density ranks us 228th.
- According to the 2011 Census, Canada was home to 205,730 farms. This represents about a 10% drop from the 2006 Census.
- Canada produces about 80% of the worlds Maple Syrup. Of that amount about 90% of it is produced in Quebec.
- The hottest day ever recorded in Canada took place on July 5, 1937 in Midale, Saskatchewan when the temperature hit 45 Degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit)
- The coldest day ever recorded in Canada took place on February 3, 1947 in Snag, Yukon Territory where the temperature dropped to -62.8 Degrees Celsius
- Mount Logan in the Yukon is Canada’s highest mountain at an elevation of 5,956 metres (19,541 feet)
- Paper and cardboard represent the largest source of waste in Canada
- Canada is the 5th largest producer of energy in the world.
- Brimacombe Ski Resort in Kirby, Ontario (formerly Oshawa Ski Club) was a barren hillside until its membership planted over 10,000 trees during a period of several years to create a series of defined trails. Imagine…a ski resort that was built by ADDING trees and not cutting them down!
AND FINALLY…
- At Niagara Falls the combined displacement of both the American and Horseshoe Falls is equal to 750,000 US Gallons of water…per second! By comparison most people taking a 5 minute shower use about 7 – 8 Gallons in total.
TO CANADIANS FROM COAST TO COAST TO COAST – HAPPY CANADA DAY!
WE TRULY HAVE SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF AND TO BE THANKFUL FOR…
Hey there,
Thank you for these facts, I am just wondering…do you have a list of sources anywhere for these?
Apologies for the delay in replying. This piece was originally written a few years ago and I’m afraid that my reference materials are no longer around. I believe most of my searching took place online, however the piece about Brimacombe Ski Resort was from personal interviews and experiences as I’ve spoken to long time members of the club there in the past to learn of it’s story.
Ontario isn’t a city?
Ontario is a city in California, but it’s Canada’s most populous Province more importantly.
Hi Eric and thanks so much for putting together all this interesting information! I teach adult ESL students and am planning to talk about the environment from a Canadian perspective, so I will be using some of your facts as a conversation starter. Your site is very helpful, and it’s great to know there are people who are committed to helping save the planet!
Thanks.
Thank you Jenny! I’m glad that this information is helpful to you and I appreciate your kind feedback.
While the Blue Box came from Kitchener, our research indicates that the first city-wide, multi-material curbside pickup program in Canada began in Burlington in 1981 (this was before the beginning of the blue box).
Hi Eric,
I am 11 years old. i am in grade six. I am doing a sose infomation Report on Canada. We need to do a Bibliography and i was wondering where i find the information such as Date site created, Publisher, Place of Publication Ect. Thank-you please reply as soon as you can, Assinment due on the 23/08/2013
Hi Cora,
Thanks for your question…just to make sure that you aren’t someone else, please send me your questions via e-mail. You can do so by visiting the home page and then under “Contact Enviro Dad” you can click “Send me an E-Mail”. I’ll be happy to answer your questions then. Thanks!
10% of the world’s forest is a lot of trees! The Great Bear rainforest is home to species like cougars, wolves, grizzly bears and the Kermode “Spirit” Bear. We are actually currently trying to protect the Great Bear rainforest with a dance campaign. Take the time to check it out and show your support!
Love these facts! We have some things to be proud of and a few I’d like to change-like how much water we use.
Thanks Sara. Glad you enjoyed the list…and yes, I agree that certain items on this list need to be worked on.
Cheers!